Colorado dominates top 150 Ancillary cannabis companies

Legalizing cannabis doesn’t just create jobs involving cultivation of the plant, it also creates businesses that aid those cultivations, infused-product manufacturers and dispensaries. Ancillary businesses to the cannabis industry can be in anything from extraction technology to industry consulting, with many, many things in between.

Ancillary businesses represent the largest and broadest sector of the cannabis industry, according to multiple industry reports, and many of the top companies are based in Colorado. Of the top 150 ancillary cannabis businesses on a recent list from Cannabis Business Executive, 41 are headquartered in Colorado. By comparison, California hsd 35 on the list, while Washington and Oregon combine for just 22.

As the first state to legalize recreational cannabis, Colorado had a head start on encouraging entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to fruition, or to further grow already existing businesses. You may have heard of some of these success stories, such as the Vicente Sederberg law firm and Leafbuyer, thanks to their media presence or consumer-facing products, while others are content with flying under the radar.

Compiling reader surveys and research over the span of fourth months, CBE chose its 150 favorite ancillary businesses and split them into categories. The highest-ranking Colorado company and only one to crack the top fifteen was Nexus Greenhouse Systems, a greenhouse manufacturer based in Northglenn. However, the company might want to widen its focus: According to the 2017 Marijuana Business Factbook, ancillary businesses that serve industries outside of cannabis have a 7 percent higher profitability than those that don’t. The top overall entry on CBE’s list, Hawthorne Gardening, is a New York-based hydroponics and gardening provider that serves a wide array of cultivations beyond cannabis.

View the entire list and learn more about CBE’s grading methods on the CBE site. Here are the Colorado companies that made the cut, their focus and their rank:

3. Nexus Greenhouse Systems
Cultivation Products and Services
Northglenn

17. Urban-Gro
Cultivation Products & Services
Lafayette

24. Ms. Mary Staffing
Staffing/Payroll
Denver

25. Vicente Sederberg
Legal
Denver

28. MJ Freeway
Software
Denver

32. Your Green Contractor
Cultivation Products and Services
Engelwood

36. ExtractionTek Solutions
Extraction Equipment
Denver

38. Baker
Software
Denver

40. Surna
Cultivation Products and Services
Boulder

44. Terpp Extractors 
Extraction Equipment
Fort Collins

48. Isolate Extraction Systems
Extraction Equipment
Lafayette

51. Canna Advisors
Consulting
Boulder

55. Wilton Inc.
Staffing/Payroll
Denver

56. Grocentia 
Cultivation Products and Services
Fort Collins

57. Canna Security America
Security Solutions
Denver

58. Assurrpack 
Packaging
Greenwood Village

65. Black Dog LED 
Cultivation Products and Services
Boulder

66. Vangst
Staffing/Payroll
Denver

73. Medicine Man Technologies 
Consulting
Denver

75. Helix TCS
Software
Greenwood Vilage

77. Amercanex
Media/Publishing
Denver

78. American Cannabis Consulting
Consulting
Denver

82. Hoban Law Group
Legal
Denver

83. National Cannabis Industry Association
Trade Association
Denver

87. RM3 Labs
Lab Testing
Denver

88. Mjardin
Cultivation Products and Services
Denver

89. Hemp Temps
Staffing/Payroll
Aurora

90. Cova
Software
Denver

95. Adilas 
Software
Salida

96. Green Mountain Harvest
Cultivation Products and Services
Lakewood

97. McAllister Garfield 
Legal
Denver

101. 3C Consulting
Consulting
Denver

107. Wurk
Software
Denver

111. BDS Analytics
Software
Denver

113. Symplifia
Software
Denver

121. Indo Expo Trade Show
Media/Publishing
Denver

123. Leafbuyer
Software
Denver

credit:420intel.com